A/N: Hi everyone! :) I'm back with Chapter 7! Tag to 5.7, "The Next Week." Sorry for the delay in updating-school is back in session and life is completely crazy once again. Thanks for your patience!
Alicia sits on the couch, hugging her knees to her chest, staring at the wall in front of her. She knows she should try to get some sleep, but she's certain it's not going to happen.
She can feel pangs of exhaustion in her eyes, but nothing else. Her muscles should be aching, her heart should feel heavy-but she doesn't feel anything. She just feels numb.
And alone.
2am rolls around, and she decides to crawl into bed, thinking the blankets and pillows might bring her some comfort, but they don't. She rests on her side, staring at the empty pillow across from her, wondering if Will will ever stop being angry with her. She wants, more than anything, for his head to rest on that pillow at the end of a long day.
24 hours ago, that was still a possibility.
Now, it may never be.
When 5am arrives, and with it the first light of the day, she gets out of bed and stumbles sleepily to the shower. She spends the next hour and a half getting ready, meticulously running the flat iron through her hair and applying exactly four swipes of mascara to each eye. She rubs her lips together after covering them with the perfect shade of red.
Alicia shrugs her suit jacket on and exits the bedroom at exactly 6:25. Realizing that this is an especially early departure, she leaves a note for Zach and Grace, explaining that she'd left early for work and reminding them that she'd bought frozen waffles (their favorite) for breakfast.
She picks up the empty cardboard boxes and the envelope right where she'd left them by the door, swings her purse over her shoulder, and walks confidently to the elevator.
The barista at Starbucks hands her something he called a "black eye," a venti coffee with two shots of espresso, fulfilling her request for the most caffeine in a cup that wouldn't kill her. She hasn't eaten breakfast, so she's relying on this caffeine flowing through her veins to keep her going.
When she arrives at the office and presses the button for the 28th floor, she wonders briefly if this is the last time she'll be doing this, only to remember that this firm is about to become her rival. Surely they'll face each other in court, and in depositions beforehand.
"Alicia!" she hears Cary call, and she reaches out to stop the elevator doors from closing. He also carries with him two empty boxes and an envelope.
"Hey," she says, smiling sadly at him. "How are you?"
Cary shrugs. "Fine. Ready to get this over with."
She nods. "Me too."
"We can take the stuff right over to the new office, if you want. There's no furniture yet, but we're welcome to take our things," he says, shifting the empty boxes in his arms.
"I think I'll wait until the weekend," Alicia decides as the elevator signals their arrival on the 28th floor. "Should we do this part together?"
"Yeah," he says. "Might be easier."
They set the boxes down outside their respective offices, ignoring the stares from everyone around them. Diane waits for them in her office, but Will is nowhere to be found.
"I'm sorry it had to be like this," Diane says sincerely, holding her hand out for the two envelopes. Alicia and Cary's hands stretch out to meet hers, and she sets the papers down on her desk. "Thank you for everything you did for the firm."
"Thank you, Diane," Alicia says, and Cary echoes her words.
Diane nods. "I'm sure we'll see you in court."
As they leave her office, Alicia turns back, opening her mouth to speak, but closes it almost immediately, realizing it's best if she doesn't ask.
"He didn't want to be here for this," Diane says, answering the question Alicia hadn't vocalized.
Alicia nods, turning to leave without saying another word.
She barely makes it back to her office before she loses the ability hold back her tears.
Once the two boxes are loaded in her trunk, Alicia climbs into the driver's seat and examines herself in the rearview mirror. Noticing that her waterproof mascara only stayed partially intact, she grabs a tissue from her purse to fix her raccoon eyes.
There's only one person she can think of she wants to talk to at this moment, and she is happy he picks up when she calls.
"Sis? What's wrong?"
"Why do you think something's wrong, Owen?"
"...you're calling me in the middle of the week. At 9:30 in the morning."
"Yeah. Um. Do you teach today?"
"I have a class from 10:30 to 11:45, but I'm done after that. Why? What's going on?"
She sighs. "Can you come over? And bring wine?"
"Absolutely."
Owen arrives before 1pm, toting the promised bottles of wine along with a grocery bag full of snacks. Wordlessly, Alicia grabs both bottles of wine and sets them on the kitchen counter.
"Well, hello there, sister," Owen says, but Alicia doesn't respond. She twists the foil off, inserts the corkscrew, and pops it out before setting it down and pushing the entire bottle toward Owen. She repeats the same procedure for bottle number two, except she keeps it for herself, taking a drink before she speaks. "Drinking wine from the bottle? Alicia-"
"I screwed up," she whispers. "I screwed up, Owen, and I don't know how to fix it."
"Oh, sis," Owen says, pushing his bottom lip above his top in a sad face. "What happened?"
She places her elbows on the counter , shifting her weight to her arms. "I...left."
"Peter? I know. That's not screwing up."
"No. I left Lockhart/Gardner."
"You...what?" he asks. "Hang on." He takes a long drink from the bottle. "You quit your job?"
"Not exactly," she starts, reaching for her wine. "I...okay. I was planning to leave with Cary and start our own firm. But Diane found out, and told Will. And Will was furious. He threw everything off my desk and told me to get out."
"Oh my god, Alicia. What did you do?"
Alicia shrugs. "I left. What else was I supposed to do? I didn't have a choice. Cary convinced Diane they shouldn't fire us, so we turned in our resignation letters this morning and took everything from our offices." She looks toward the two cardboard boxes on the floor, and Owen's eyes follow hers.
"I'm sorry," Owen tells her sincerely, covering her hand with his. "Have you talked to Will since?"
She shakes her head. "I don't know if he ever wants to talk to me again, Owen. I really screwed up this time." He moves around the counter to hug his sister, and she leans into his arms. "Thank you."
"I'm here, sis. Everything is going to be fine. Now, get your butt to the couch. We're going to eat snacks and drink wine and get you drunk enough to forget that your life is in shambles."
Alicia chuckles as she picks up the bag of chips and moves toward the living room with her bottle of wine. "I don't think that's possible."
"Hey. I know you," Owen says, recognizing the impeccably dressed and incredibly handsome man in the suit. He'd know him anywhere.
"Owen," Will responds, surprised.
"Yeah. Well, Dr. Cavanaugh. You're Alicia's boss, from her work. Will."
"Yeah," Will responds, a little distractedly. "You teach here?"
"I do. Mathematical sciences. Professor of the month, actually. I get all the free frozen yogurt I want from YouGoGurt."
"So-do you know Dr. Delaney?"
"I do. Yeah. Why?"
"Can we talk? In your office?" Will asks, looking hopeful. Owen thinks to himself that if Will had ever looked at Alicia like this, she couldn't have possibly denied him anything he wanted.
"Sure. I have buckets of fro-yo in my freezer."
They make the short walk to Owen's office, where he offers Will a cup of chocolate fro-yo. Will takes a bite and nods his head approvingly. "This is pretty good."
Will explains the case he's working on, with Jeffrey and Dani and Dr. Delaney, and Owen informs him of all the rumors and professor gossip he's overheard in the halls.
"Owen, thanks for your help," he says, tossing the empty cup into the trash. "I'll be in touch if I think of anything else you might know."
"Sure," Owen replies, taking a bite of his yogurt. "Hey...Will?" he adds uncertainly. "Before you go...I need to tell you something."
"If this is about Alicia," Will starts, but Owen holds up his hand.
"It is. And you need to hear it. Because she thinks you don't want to, but I think you need to."
Alicia is just finishing dinner when she hears a knock on the door. Sighing to herself, she sets her empty plate on the counter before heading to the door. It had been a long day at Florrick/Agos, and she is neither anticipating nor in the mood for visitors.
Everything is forgotten when she opens the door and realizes who stands on the other side.
"We need to talk."